Caitlin Cook

Caitie went to Dhaka to work at the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) to increase the knowledge of the current state of antibiotic resistance in pandemic, multidrug resistant pathogenic bacteria in Bangladesh, with the goal of slowing the spread of these potentially deadly resistance genes to decrease the burden on some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. We are conducting a study on fresh produce samples around Dhaka city to test our hypothesis that saprophytic organisms living on these foods harbor mobile drug resistance genes, which can then easily transfer to pathogenic bacteria. These bacteria threaten the quality of life of all affected, as they are the etiologic agent for many respiratory tract, urinary tract, and gastrointestinal tract infections.